Arts and Crafts Books

I have JO Sonja's books back to the 1970's. I keep ALL of her books. She has changed direction from the '70's and I love her old style of painting. However,I won't get rid of any of her books. She used to use only oils and that I loved. She now has her own line of paints usually in acrylics. This is a good book but for me I prefer her '70's line of painting.

This is a beautifully illustrated and very informative book on many different ethnic decorative painting styles. I very highly recommend it an excellent addition to the library of any decorative painter.

This comprehensive overview of decorative painting includes historic American, European and Asian styles. More important to me, however, was the basic information about developing a personal technique, varieties of materials available, practical information about finishes, and more. This book should be the cornerstone of any decorative painting collection.

I am totally in awe of this book. Not only has Jo Sonja collected exquisite photographs of folk art from all over the world, she has also provided wonderful instructions for creating each of the styles on your own--and added notes for developing your own personal style. In the next millenia, Jo Sonja will be remembered for her work as one of the great folk artists of this century.

"Josef Albers: to Open Eyes" by F.A.Horowitz and B. Danilowitz is not only a review into the life and work of a great complex artist and teacher. It also signals the end of a debatable era called "postmodernism" whose glitz, pomp and kitsch we have been witnessing universally since Tom Wolfe's pamphlet "From Bauhaus to Our House". "Josef Albers: to Open Eyes" also gives hope to the rediscovery of relevance. This elaborate study deserves to be part of the curriculum of the future art generation in its defining process.
Frank R Schmidt, Princeton, NJ

What a mammoth yet intriguing and masterful study of the brilliantly talented Josef Albers! This book has many substantial insights, but I was personally fascinated with the depth of passion that Albers demonstrated both for his art and his pedagogy. Fred Horowitz has elegantly evoked the ways that Albers sought to "open" the eyes of his students, so they could "bring the conscious mind to bear on the task at hand" and take risks as they became "creative, self-reliant, [and] independent."

Josef Albers: To Open Eyes by Frederick A. Horowitz and Brenda Danilowitz, is a beautiful, magnificent book about this internationally eminent artist, teacher of art, and theorist of design and color. It simply could not be better.

Brenda Danilowitz, Chief Curator of the Josef and Anni Albers Foundation in Bethany, Connecticut, writes about the biography of Albers, 64 pages, while Frederick A. Horowitz, a former student of Albers at Yale, who taught a The University of Michigan School of Art & Design in Ann Arbor and at Washtenaw Community College, devotes 181 pages to Albers as teacher of design, drawing, color and painting. An additional 34 pages cover Notes, Bibliography, Sources, Illustrations and Index. To find out what made Albers such a unique and revered teacher Frederick Horowitz interviewed a total of 160 students at Bauhaus, Black Mountain College, Yale and Harvard as well as 9 of his professional colleagues.

Albers was first a student and then a member of the faculty of the original Bauhaus in Germany. When Hitler took over Germany in 1933 and the faculty, led by Mies van der Rohe, closed the Bauhaus, Albers came to the U.S. to teach, first at Black Mountain College in North Carolina and then, beginning in 1950, at Yale as Head of the Department of Design. By 1962 Yale University awarded him an honorary Doctorate at the same time she similarly honored President John F. Kennedy and former Secretary of State Dean Acheson.

Albers experimented with color relationships in the form of nested squares of color. His great dedication resulted in a retrospective exhibition of his oeuvre at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, an honor only rarely given to a living artist. Another retrospective was organized in 1988 at the Guggenheim Museum in New York.

At Yale all first-year graduate students in architecture, undergraduates majoring in architecture and design, and all students in design took Albers' courses in color and in drawing, while his basic design course was meant for undergraduates majoring in architecture.

Albers had a wide influence on generations of artists, architecture and design. The book makes it eminently clear why Albers was as influential a teacher as he was and why his courses and theories became the basis of art teaching all over the United States.

The text of this truly remarkable book is very informative and well written. The illustrations are superlative, carefully chosen and in many instances unique, not available anywhere else since they come from the Albers Foundation. I counted 284 illustrations, 103 in color.

By describing the life and artful work of Josef Albers this book demonstrates to teachers and lovers of art at all levels how to impart a life-long desire to experiment with fundamental principles of art and with novel materials to create new objects of art.

Many people may not know that Josef Albers played a large part in revolutionizing teaching art in the 20th Century. Many people do not know how many 2oth century artists lives were in some way affected by his teaching--either directly or indirectly.

It is surprising that it has taken this long for a book on the remarkable teaching career of Josef Albers to appear, but here it finally is. Fred Horowitz and Brenda Danilowitz do a superb job of bringing the pedagogical thinking of perhaps the greatest 20th century art educator to life as well giving us a clear picture of the teacher himself. If this is the only book you ever read on teaching art you will give yourself the greatest gift possible.

The explanations and analysis of individual projects in four foundations courses, are coherent and represent the meat of this remarkable book. Plentiful fine illustrations from the Albers Foundation Archives, the Bauhaus and Black Mountain College make clear the descriptions of the problems and the reasons Albers found these to be indispensible in developing visual thinking--in opening eyes.

The choice of type weight, spacing, margin widths, and the light value of the ink may make reading the text a little difficult, but you should persevere--because real gold lies within the text. This is not just a book for the pictures!!

The publishers should take note, however, that Josef Albers as a designer would have deplored the way the layout and typography makes the reading a difficult task. I wonder whether the book designers took the trouble to read the text, or if they might benefited from some of the basic lessons imparted in Albers' famous Design courses.

I hope that with the publishing of this book, the vital lessons that Albers made the core of his life teaching will once again be brought alive and vigorous into the Foundations classrooms of colleges and art schools worldwide.

Turn on your CD of Judy at Carnegie Hall and play with Judy Garland through her major career achievements. There are 30 wonderful costumes, and the likeness to Judy is amazing.

Tom Tierney obviously devoted himself to producing a magnificent tribute to Judy's career. If you're a fan, you know that you have to have these Judy Garland Paper Dolls for your collection.

You don't have to be a Judy Garland fan to enjoy these paper dolls. The likenesses on all three dolls are superb. The last doll showing Miss Garland towards the end of her career captures the passion she expressed when performing.
Costumes from most of Judy Garland's famous films are included. Tom Tierney's drawings of the costumes from "The Wizard of Oz" (with her friends in the background), "Meet Me in St.Louis" and "The Pirate" were my favorites.

TOM TIERNEYS PAPER DOLLS OF JUDY ARE BEAUTIFUL.THE COSTUMES ARE DETAILED IF NOT ALL HER BEST.tHE WIZARD OF OZ DRAWING CONTAINS A LESSER BACKGROUND ADDITION OF HER OZ COHORTS THAT ISN'T AS WELL DRAWN AS THE COSTUME WHICH IS THE BOOKS ONLY FLAW.EACH DOLL WELL REPRESENTS EACH STAGE OF HER CAREER.IT IS A GEM FOR CELEBRITY COLLECTORS LIKE I AM TO FIND A LINE OF CELEBRITY DOLLS LIKE TIERNEY HAS DONE.HE IS A GIFTED ARTIST

These are really great and so much fun! There are costumes from each of her movies (including Every Sunday) included. They are vividly colored and match the actual costumes to a "T" Truly a great collectible. Buy two because you'll want to keep one nice and play with the other. :o)

I was very happy with this book. A prompt delivery and it arrived in good condition. This is a truly beautiful book full of lots of colour and inspiration.

I loved this book. The quilts are so colorful, and very easy patterns. Nothing terribly complicated, and yet with magnificent colors that give you many new ideas to do in the future. In general I like Fassett's books because they are fearless in the use of colors.

A truly stunning quilting book. In Quilt Road, Kaffe has achieved even more exciting designs. His use of colour and blending of fabulous fabric is amazing. His work is a breath of fresh air into the quilting world. Nothing boring here! It has the potential to appeal to all ages including the modern younger person. Beautiful photographs illustrate these wonderful designs. Also recommend his Museum Quilts (inspired by the V and A museum) book.

I love the overly-patterned new quilts in this book by Kaffe Fassett and Liza Prior Lucy. I can't wait to get started on them!

From the infamous ant farm to Wooly Willy, this book covers all the hokey and cool toys you probably had if you grew up in the 60s, 70s or even later. The author does a nice job of providing an interesting synopsis of each toy, including its invention, popularity, and success (or lack thereof). There are dozens of obscure facts and stories behind the creation and evolution of these toys, and this book culls them all for us, making it a fun and enjoyable read.

The great thing about this book is that the toys featured include those that most of us had as kids (or at least had a friend who had them): Magic 8 Ball, Slinky (my personal favorite), Mr. Potato Head, Tinkertoys....and the list goes on. This book is great for the kid who never grew up.

This book brings back wonderful memories. As a child it was wonderful playing and experiencing these wonderful toys. As an adult it is wonderful to find out why and how these classic toys came to be. This book is sure to bring a smile to all who read it.

One way in which the thinking processes of successful inventors and entrepreneurs differs from the average person is that they often see a potential masker that others fail to see. Many demonstrations of this ability may be found when reading this delightful little book, Kid Stuff. David Hoffman has assembled the histories of the most familiar toys of our childhood. From the Ant Farm to the Whiffle Ball, he details how they were conceived, perfected, and promoted.

Consider the Slinky. If Richard James, in 1945, had not been intrigued by how a spring he accidentally dropped "walked" across the floor, the story could have ended right there. But be did see a potential. He perfected it, named it, and packaged it. It then died on the vine at the local retail outlet. Again, the story could have ended right there. However, he realized this was a new item and that it had to be demonstrated. When he demonstrated it at Gimbels, he sold 400 in minutes. In the 50 years since, 250 million have been sold!

Three basics in the Slinky story form a common thread that runs through many of these classic toy histories. First, someone sees a potential market; secondly, a dynamite trade name is created; thirdly, clever marketing is utilized.

Often the opportunity is in plain sight and, in fact, may have been for some time. Hoffman points out that it is said that the Yo-Yo is actually the second-oldest known toy (after dolls). Yet it remained for Donald Duncan, in 1927, to see the possibilities. Further confirmation that some people do look at the world differently may be had by noting that Duncan also invented the parking meter and introduced the Good Humor "ice cream on a stick."

An example of a mental process utilizing analogical thinking may be seen in the history of the Erector Set. Back in 1911, A. C. Gilbert observed girders being assembled for an electric system along the railroad line he frequently traveled. Realizing kids love to assemble things (wood blocks, etc.), he put together a toy kit consisting of girders, gears, pulleys, etc.

This power of observing the obvious and seeing the not so obvious is again shown in the history of Mr. Potato Head. George Lerner noticed how children love to play with their food. Who has not? He utilized the observation to create Mr. Potato Head. Incidentally, "Mr. Potato Head was the first toy to ever be advertised on television." The story recites how the toy has been adapted to the times. His pipe was eliminated and the last pipe given to the Surgeon General at the Great American Smokeout. Responding to safety regulation they increased the size of its pasts and made them less sharp. As Hoffman notes, the current Mr. Potato Head may surprise nostalgic parents, but he is still loved by the kids.

Another example of how a toy was adapted to the times is Antonio Pasin's original wagon, "Liberty Coaster," of 1923. It was made of wood and it was followed by the classic little red wagon, "Radio Flyer," made of steel. It was called "Flyer" to emphasize motion and "Radio" to honor the Italian inventor of radio.

If for no other reason, read this book to satisfy your curiosity as to how the classic toys came to be. How Paul Guillow created the balsa wood airplane industry. How a toy store owner and a marketing consultant created Silly Putty---it floundered until a mention in the New Yorker magazine resulted in orders for a quarter-million and it's sales has since reached the 200-million mark!

This book is jammed packed with toy trivia. Largest-selling football in the world? Nerf football. Barbie Doll's last name? Roberts.

Viktor Budnik's photographs for this book are terrific. They make this little book look good enough for your coffee table. But best of all, even your kids will enjoy this book and, perhaps, pick up on the idea that behind each toy there was a real person who took an idea from the dream world and brought it into the real world.

These guys have put together a tremendous walk down memory lane. If you want to know the secrets behind your favorite childhood toys (as well as be reminded about how much fun they were)...buy this book. Set it out on a coffee table at your next party, and you are guaranteed an evening of fun reminiscing.

This book is more than fun reading...it is childhood joy recaptured.

I referred to this book often in a Migrant Head Start Program. The kids love the activities, and so do the adults!

The creativity of each activity is amazing. They are organized on a day-by-day basis, corresponding to the different seasons. For example, in fall kids are painting with leaves, watching birds fly south, and creating projects with apples; in spring, they observe green life under the snow and plant seeds which they can tend into fall. It is the perfect book with which to cultivate a life-long love for nature in children living in a world of rapid environmental change.

Start learning today!

I bought this book when my daughter was in first grade and find myself using it on a regular basis. There are activity suggestions for every day of the year to help you and your kids learn more about nature, together! There are also games to play and suggestions for stories and poems to read. I find that the ideas are easily adaptable to each child and a great reference for the times when your child says "mom, I'm bored". An all-around great book for parents who want to teach their children a greater appreciation for nature and the world around them. I learned a lot, too!

This book is written in a calendar format, encouraging readers to engage in nature activities appropriate for that time of year (in a seasonal climate). My children and I found ourselves occupied with listening for spring peepers in March, sowing sunflower seeds in June, making leaf tracings in October and pinecone birdfeeders in January. Far from the usual stuff however, this book is also packed with great nature facts, activities and games that I've never seen anywhere else.
Excellent resource for families interested in going a few steps beyond to really learn about the natural world; also excellent for classrooms, scout troops and the like for kid-friendly ideas and activities which appeal to a wide span of ages.

This is a great outdoor book for kids of all ages. It literally has an activity for every day of the year and they are do-able activities to teach kids about nature!

This is a good McCumber book, only it is different ..... it is a knitting project AND recipe book that intertwines w/the " Cedar Cove' series. Am looking forward to finishing one of the knitting projects and already have one of the recipes set aside for the next potluck dinner!

This book offers a great selection of patterns, and excellent passages from the novel it is based on. Great way to get the feeling you are with friends from Cedar Cove.

Lots of ideas I would like to try. Patterns for all types of things - including felting. Print is large enough that I don't need my reading glasses. Layout is spacious so it will be easy to follow while knitting.

Debbie add's a third to her knit along books. This one is in conjunction with the Cedar Cove Series. She has added great knitting ideas, along with receipes. She donates a portion of the proceeds to her charitys. She adds information as to how to help Warm Up America, a great organization dedicated to providing warmth for those that need a little help. Wonderful clear projects, and receipes. It ties in with the books great, and is a joy to add to any collection.

I am a new (adult) knitter and this was the first book in which I could actually understand the pattern instructions without looking up dozens of abbreviations in a "knitting shorthand" glossary. It would be great if more books just had instructions in plain english instead of shorthand.

This is also one of the few knitting books with clear illustrations for the knitting techniques. Most books contain small, confusing drawings that skip steps, but this one is clear. Definitely the best book for a beginner that I have come across.

My girls are 6 and 8 years old. They both knit and knitting is becoming all the rage in their Montessori school. This is a beautiful beginning to knit book. It's has nice, easy to follow pictures and simple projects. I love all of Judy Sadler's books.

I had been wanting to learn to knit for years. I finally broke down and ordered a kit (which came with this book, needles and yarn). I taught myself to knit using this book over one weekend. I am SO happy!! This book made it so easy to understand. The illustrations are wonderful and the directions a clear and easy to understand. I can't reccomend this book highly enough. I absolutely love it!

Each children's knitting book has its own particular virtues. The most
exciting feature of Knitting by Judy Ann Sadler is that the Double Tail cast-on method
is presented in a children's knitting book. None of the other leading
children's knitting books,...illustrates the single cast-on (terrible for knitting your first row!) and
the knit-on cast-on (messy, in my opinion). ....

The reason that I find this exciting is that I have taught the double-tail
cast-on method successfully to quite a few children, yet I never had a kids'
book to recommend to them to use as a memory-jog at home. Now I do! .

The other unique feature is that Sadler recommends "marking" one of the

knitting needles with a little piece of contrasting yarn before you cast-on.
This allows her to avoid terms like "wrong side row" and "right side row"
for young learners. I haven't tried this yet with my knitting club, but
since it is one more visual cue, I think it could be helpful.

Projects are all knit on two needles: pom-pom scarf, rolled-brim hat,
ribbed scarf, slipper socks, cozy blanket, pillow, patterned headband, book
bag, mini-purse, striped mittens, and boa. All of these would appeal to my
elementary school knitters. In fact, I *know* I never would have thought of
a boa to offer as a knitting project for my kids, but I also know that some
of them would love to have one.

The color illustrations and photos are excellent. My only unfulfilled wish
is that Sadler would have included one of the popular rhymes for learning
the knit stitch. Kids really benefit from the rhyme because it helps them
visualize the steps of the stitch and also helps them remember the steps.

All in all, Knitting by Judy Ann Sadler is an attractive, accessible, and smart first introduction to knitting for children.

Yo pude conseguir una edicion de Lalique Perfume Bottles
by GLENN UTT, y me siento feliz por tenerlo y disfrutar de tanta belleza convertida en cristal. Ojala se actualice.
Contacteme para intercambiar comentarios.
Saludos, Maria

Yo pude conseguir una edicion de Lalique Perfume Bottles
by GLENN UTT, y me siento feliz por tenerlo y disfrutar de tanta belleza convertida en cristal. Ojala se actualice.
Contacteme para intercambiar comentarios.
Saludos, Maria

Soy coleccionista de botellas de perfume de Lalique, he oido hablar del libro "Lalique Perfume Bottles", escrito por Glenn and Mary Lou Utt. Siento mucho que esté agotado, podrían ayudarme a conseguir un ejemplar? Los comentarios de Michael Trenteseau indican que es un verdadero conocedor del arte del cristal Lalique, me comunicaré con él. La colección iniciada en 1994 para su propia fragancia Lalique es preciosa, espero con ansiedad y mucha curiosidad por ver la próxima. Yo las tengo todas, gracias al amor de mi familia, que cada año me la regalan. Estoy interesada en conseguir libros relacionados con el arte del cristal Lalique. Espero la nueva edición de este libro en especial.

"Lalique Perfume Bottles" by Glenn and Mary Lou Utt is the definitive book on the work of the Lalique in one of the most important aspects of the family's design history. Rene Lalique designed the bottle for "l'Effleurt" for Francois Coty, originating the concept of a specific bottle designed for a single fragrance. Lalique later produced bottles that would house any of Coty's dozens of scents, but the concept of individuality in presentation was born in 1907.

The book is thorough in its descriptions and its pictures. Every flacon mentioned is illustrated, and there is a table in the back which lists them all as well.

There are two drawbacks to the first edition: There are some errors - pieces listed that are not in fact by Lalique, and some older designs have come to light. Much of this was dealt with in an addendum given to attendees at the International Perfume Bottle Collector convention in Atlanta in 1991, which may or may not be available elsewhere.

The second drawback is that it was written in 1990, before a boom in perfume bottle collecting, which included the release of Lalique's own fragrance in 1994.

Bringing the first edition up to date would mean including the changes made in 1991, and adding more recent designs. Fortunately, other than the colored stoppers of the classic double dove bottle for "L'air du Temps," the only new styles are those produced by Lalique either for their main crystal line, or for their own four fragrances.

I hope that the book is updated, I will be eager to add it to my collection.

This book was used in our daughter's virtual school classroom for a project she needed to complete. We ordered it through Amazon so she could take it to her room, sit back and read it. It is entertaining and thorough. I would recommend this book for ideas and creativity to other parents.

I am thrilled to have this book. It was recommended to me by one of my graduate professors. It is a great way to discuss the writing process to kids. The pictures are great and it is an awesome read-aloud! I would recommend this book for the elementary grades.

I'm a children's book writer and the author of the picture book "Otto's Rainy Day". I recently discovered this book just as I was about to do a book reading and give a presentation at my local library about the writing and publishing process. Loreen Leedy has laid out the process in a structurally logical and easy-to-follow format that parallels what real adult writers do. She also gives wonderful examples to illustrate her points. I used the book to talk about how my book came to be a published book, from manuscript to print, but to also relate it to how kids can also write and create their own books (they don't have to wait for a publisher!). It helped me shift the focus from just me, the adult writer, to hopefully inspiring kids to create their own fun writing project.

Look At My Book: How Kids Can Write & Illustrate Terrific Books by experienced children's author Loreen Leedy teaches young people how to write their own books: brainstorm ideas, get ready to do research, the design and illustrate a fantastic new book. The colorful artwork is crisp and clean, clearly illustrating various steps of the process. Offering tips for coming up with characters, settings, the perfect title, making revisions, choosing art supplies, binding the pages of one's new book and more, Look At My Book is a picturebook that truly stimulates creativity and imagination. Highly recommended.